


A Bond Forged by Fate, Tempered by Love

by TheOneAndOnly1993



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Gen, Insecurity, Self-Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-28 20:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21142367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOneAndOnly1993/pseuds/TheOneAndOnly1993
Summary: Kako Natsume, friendless until becoming a magical girl, had never felt that special bond with any of her teammates. In her mind, as well as the others', they were brought together by circumstance as opposed to emotional desire - and remained as such. After a camping trip (and Felicia) forces hidden feelings to come to light, she might realize just how precious they truly are to one another. But at a great cost.





	A Bond Forged by Fate, Tempered by Love

"Ambushed!" panted Nanaka, dual katanas crossing before her. "Sincerest apologies for walking us into such a predicament! Keep on the defensive while I formulate a plan!"

Meiyui gasped, whimpered, and groaned all at once, sweat-soaked face turned to the heavens. "Na'h... naka-san," she panted, "is not... your fault... Nanaka-sa-_augh!_" Bodies filled the Labyrinth's sky, widening before her eyes in an instant. Meiyui screamed, lashed with a ferocity reminiscent of a wolverine. "_GET AWAY FROM HER!_" There was no technique, just butchering the familiars to smoky ribbons. "Get away." She bent her bloodied legs, crouching over Kako with arms spread wide. "Get away, or I'll kill you all."

Kako hardly understood what had happened. Where they were. One minute she was saving the day, the next... they were in the depths of a veritable familiar army! There was no way a single magical girl could survive, let alone four - 75% of whom were purely close-ranged fighters. 

"Kill you!" Meiyui rasped, throwing her arms left and right and left and right. 

Familiars don't feel, they don't think. They possess no regard for their own well-being, no thoughts beyond their stomachs. At least, that's what Kako liked to think - in truth, every Witch and familiar displayed a behavior or trait unique to them, and the horde facing Meiyui's third of the defensive circle shrunk back just a hair, humanizing them to an unsettling degree as the softspoken gangster belted out a savage scream. It was so unlike her that an acute, gutting sort of terror overwhelmed the blinding pain stemming from Kako's midnight-black soul gem.

Who was this heart-throbbing beast in Meiyui's clothing? 

"Nanak-_h'ah! C'mon, H'AH! And... ANOTHER!"_ Akira threw her fists with abandon, Kako knew because she saw familiars rocketing straight into the air before erupting into smoke. _"Nanaka-san!"_ she cried. "How much longer 'till ya think up a plan!?"

"I... I..."

A black sea of bodies with limbs too long for their bodies, and gnashing human teeth churning an inhuman cacophony of screams, moved closer inch by inch. Little by little. The endless army diminished their meters-wide circle every other minute, kept at bay only by Akira's fists, Meiyui's slashes, or the firm cuts of Nanaka's swords, the frailty of her composure betrayed by her gashed, crimson-soaked arms, the throbbing rhythm of her shoulders. Her outer robe was lost, slashed to ribbons some miles or feet away - Kako lost track an hour ago. Nanaka was getting weaker, more hurt, further exhausted with every suicidal attempt made by the villains. Weak by Kamihama standards, but they were relentless, endlessly produced by their master - feeble of body but so far from current danger that her army had Nanaka's group surrounded before they could recognize her as the Witch of the labyrinth, much less reach her with a team so ill-equipped for such a foe.

That is to say, it went to Hell immediately. But they fought hard, trying to cut a path to the Witch. Trying to save further innocents from being devoured by these horrors.

Now, Kako couldn't protect her team nor go for the Witch. One would have had to be sacrificed - if this was early on in the fight, that is. But the time to even entertain such a monstrous notion was long gone. Nanaka was hesitant because she was unsure if she could reach the Witch in this state, even if she rallied the others. Not just because coordinated teamwork was out of the question with Kako crippled and useless, but success depended on leaving her to be devoured. Akira wouldn't abandon her, and it seemed Meiyui wasn't intent on doing that neither, even if Nanaka made the cold order to do so.

And Nanaka... 

She still said nothing of such a plan. She was hesitating, and she must know every second was precious and yet Kako was still alive instead of left for dead like a truly pragmatic leader would command. 

Perhaps if they fought to the exit? But it was far. There were so many familiars. And they had to carry Kako, too. Reaching the exit of this labyrinth unscathed would be a Herculean task in of itself. _This... all the blame is mine._ Nanaka's katanas tapped the ground. _She's giving up because of what stupid Felicia said last night! __Dammit. Dammit!_ The familiar-like entities leapt, teeth-first. _This is it!_ "NO!" 

Nanaka's swords moved, slicing and slashing, then chopping-cleaving-butchering until her throat ached raw and broken from all her battle-crying. And then they stopped coming; Kako looked from the corner of her eye, their featureless faces twitching away from the Tokiwa heiress's savagery. Nanaka swore at them filthily, dared them to come forth and die.

And then she fell, collapsing on scarred knees, a sword sheathed in the labyrinth's marble floor. The other slipped between her fingers, clattered, heavy in what looked like oil. "_I've brought shame to the Tokiwa family,"_ she muttered - Kako only heard despite the surrounding carnage because she listened in. "_Walked my flowers_... _into a slaughter, all 'cause I was too prideful to prove Mitsuki right." _

_"If I'd been less guarded of heart, if I took care to actually act the leader instead of a boss, perhaps Kako wouldn't have tried so hard to prove herself here."_

_"We'd be able to retreat. Muster a larger force."_

Teeth parting to abyssal-black throats filled Kako's vision. Nanaka had shut her eyes, blind to the beast leaping over her. 

_I've failed,_ Kako realized. _I'm__ so sorry, everyone, forgive me in the next life!_

************************

This camping trip Kako had suggested was going south, slowly but surely. That's not to say it was crashing and burning; in fact, all seemed calm on a surface level. Normal, even. But it was definitely on a decline more so than an upswing. Nanaka theorized their guest's presence was the cause, most likely indirectly. It was strange: although she'd peddled it as a means of bonding and strengthening their dynamic, Nanaka couldn't see how nor why Kako had to invite Felicia Mitsuki at the last minute.

It was so unlike her, first of all. Kako, if her intent was to bring a friend, would normally have voiced it when initially presenting the idea. Second was Felicia's behavior; was she being serious when she claimed to be "saving" Kako from this weekend, or just being a punk like always? Nanaka would normally ask her teammate in private, but prying would result as it often did in the tight-lipped types like Kako: that is to say, needless friction and no results to show for it. 

...As well as Mitsuki's dialogue.

And thus an associated loss of brain cells.

Ergo, Nanaka adapted and took it with a smile for Kako's sake. 

The girl had her strengths, after all, and her presence had consistently kept Kako's nose out of a book, maintaining interaction and investment in their purpose for being so far removed from civilization. And despite her brashness and frequent proclamations of boredom, Mitsuki didn't put up much of an argument when it was time for Kako to partake in close combat exercises and cooperative training. All things considered, on the surface, things were normal.

And that was precisely the problem: it was all on the surface. Something about Kako's more introverted behavior, and random gestures like suggesting this trip, stuck out as points of peculiarity. Nothing changed or developed, however, until the second night. 

It was suppertime: crickets sung, the brook nearby babbled, and Nanaka's team ate in total silence like last night. She looked to each of their faces: Meiyui and Akira seemed comfortable, or at least neutral. Felicia ate her fish with savage gusto. Kako beside her only took small bites with long pauses between each, never lifting her gaze. As if the creature's milky eyeball held whatever she wanted out of this trip. 

It would be uncouth to confront her before everyone's eyes, especially since it's how Kako normally looked. But Nanaka had accepted her idea under the assumption of becoming a stronger team, and her heart clearly wasn't in it. Why? Something clearly bothered her, but she wouldn't say or even imply the "why" of it. Perhaps she was embarrassed in front of Felicia? Then what point in inviting her, and not Akino or Haruna? Or even Ayame? Perhaps Konoha and Hazuki didn't want their little sister away for a such a stretch of time, but... it was wishful thinking at best. If Nanaka became entangled in it, Kako might never get the help she clearly needed. 

Nanaka cleared her throat, turning to daughter of the Blue Seas Family.

Akira suddenly announced, "Kako-chan, I-I really enjoyed that book you let me borrow."

A slight tilt upward, smile just as strained. "I'm glad. I'll give you the sequel if you're interested." Her face and smile dropped back to her dinner.

Akira rubbed the back of her head, exchanging an 'I tried' look with Nanaka. So she noticed, too; it was no surprise, given Akira's altruistic nature. She was a good girl, through and through.

Turning to Meiyui once more, in the midst of flipping her stormy sea of hair, Nanaka said, "You cook a delicious fish, Meiyui-san." _Initiate group-talk first. That's what my book on making friends informed me. _

She stiffened, quickening her chews and swallow, and bowed. "Thank you. Although the fire is what cooked it, not I."

"Bet your ass the fire cooked it! Stuff's dry as Hell. Starting to get sick of it." Felicia was gnawing on the tailbone regardless.

Meiyui, her blush evident even in the fire's glow, glared through the flames at the girl across from her. She gave a sudden start, Akira's hand upon her shoulder. "Hey, ya caught it, and that's what matters." Always the peacekeeper; Nanaka's smile relaxed, now somewhat genuine.

"In my own manner, yes. Apologies for disrespecting your teachings, by the way." Meiyui placed down her utensils, touching a fist to her palm. "I noticed you looked crestfallen after I became frustrated with my repeated failures. 'Hangry,' if I recall your justification. Apologies, once again, for stirring the emotion of 'hangriness' in your heart." 

Akira chuckled. "Nah, it's fine. I felt bad for wasting your time."

"As do I. Perhaps one day, you can teach me the zen and joy of fishing under less pressing circumstances."

"I mean, this time's as good as any other..." Akira shook her head. "Never mind. Sure, I'm game! But only if you really want to. I get that it's not for everybody. Your way of doing, though, it's quite uh..."

"Flawless and expedient?" presumed Meiyui. She threw her unbraided hair like Ria Ami, the fullness and depth of its color rising above her like a tsunami. "That is how my ancestors caught fish, I'll have you know." 

Akira stammered. "Well, I think everybody's ancestors did it that way, in a sense-"

"You make it annoying to de-bone the thing, slicin' it up like that." Felicia grinned, her teeth gross with gristle. "Even I know not to do that. You're dumb, Chinese lady."

"Felicia isn't entirely wrong here. And that's when you know it's a genuine problem, Meiyui-san." Everybody laughed at Nanaka's comment, who kept it to herself that she was only half-joking. Felicia huffed, glancing aside at Kako, who remained within herself.

"K-" Nanaka attemped before Mitsuki interrupted: "You guys kiddin' me? Are ya blind, or can't ya see your friend-sorry-_'teammate'_ is depressed as Hell?"

Kako reacted on the spot, grasping tight her friend's purple sleeve. "Felicia-chan, I told you not to."

She shook out of her hold. "Nothin'll come if I leave it to ya, cuz' ya never say nothin'."

Nanaka placed her dinner on the ground and stood. "Mitsuki-san, if she asked you to do something the very least you could do is honor her request."

A snort. "Yeah, of course _you're_ never gonna ask, neither. Cuz you don't care."

Something sharp impaled Nanake deep... but she could say nothing. Despite that being untrue, her actions told a clearly different story, intent be damned. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Kako shot up to her feet, lips a firm, trembling line. The girls stiffened; Nanaka awaited whatever she was going to say. She threw her plate into the fire, the flames hissing softly as they ravaged the garbage, and the pieces of fish half-eaten. An odor flavored the smoke.

"I'm going to bed." Kako bowed to Meiyui. "Chun-san, thanks for the food."

She speedily walked around the circle before anyone could say goodnight, save Akira's: hesitant and ignored. In the darkness, amidst the crackling firewood, they heard the zipper of Kako's tent hum angrily, shuffling, then the zipper to sing a brief encore. Silence bled into Nanaka's ears, sans the campfire and its song.

She leveled Felicia with a glare, adjusting her glasses. "Do you have no respect, even for your friends?"

"You worded that weird." The brat drilled a pinky in her ear. "I guess so?" She hunched forth, examining her retrieval before flicking it into the fire. "Ya got any for Kako-chan? That's what I'm wondering."

Meiyui commented lightly, "I'm surprised you have the propensity to consider people other than yourself. What happened to the savage brute whom allied with us a year ago?"

Blushing, Felicia lifted her gaze. She must have seen Nanaka's mystified expression, for her mouth curled. "Sorry. Stupid question. How can you?" she sneered. 

"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Nanaka. 

"Cuz Kako-chan doesn't like you." That... actually got through her walls, even if it was most likely untrue. "And that's just sad, cuz she's desperate to like _everybody_." Felicia cackled. "You should see your face right now! Before you ask, nah, she's never said that but I can tell."

Meiyui rose, thumbs hooking the loops of her jean shorts. "You must be far off your mark, then. I sincerely doubt you, of all girls, can accurately read the nuances of others' characters."

Felicia clasped her hands behind her head, feigning relaxation. "I dunno what that means. I guess it means I'm too stupid to grok my friends. And that's the problem with you smarties! Ya spend so much time worrying about small stuff thatcha miss the bigger picture."

"Oh, _please_..."

"Maybe I can see it better cuz Kako-chan dragged me out here. Maybe it's cuz she told me outright that she was afraid of this trip. Feel bad for laughing at her, lookin' back! You guys seriously suck, as teammates _and_ friends." 

"What?" Nanaka breathed. _But she was so excited when pitching this idea initially. What changed? Was it my way of running it?_

Felicia's self-satisfied mug broke into a hateful glare, firing in her direction. "Yeah, can see why she wasn't excited now. Dunno know why she had any faith in this trip to begin with! Even _I_ could see how it'd have gone, what with Egghead-senpai at the helm. Or would it be Raspberryhead-senpai? _Mmm_, raspberries."

"Mitsuki-san, I'd_ asked you_-" Nanaka stopped herself, exhaled her frustration. "To, please, enlighten us."

Felicia shot up on her feet, shoulders squared and cupping her slim chest, fluffing it whilst mocking in a deep voice, "'I printed an itinerary to achieve the best training possible. Every hour will be regulated so as to maximize our growth potential before class on Monday. Here are the camp chores. Kako-san, we have no time for reading. No fun allowed. Boss-boss-boss.'" She plopped back upon her and Kako's log. "Enlightened yet? She wanted this to be a good time. She wanted to relax with you people, for _some_ stupid reason." 

Nanaka had had a sneaking suspicion: about all of this, what Felicia has essentially just confirmed. It was so clear now, given Kako's uncharacteristic distance from the group. And yet...

"This isn't a dictatorship," she told the fire. _What? ...Am I excusing myself on the spot? _Something within Nanaka wouldn't let her stop. "Kako knows we hold each other's opinions on equal ground. That I consider everybody's wants instead of pressing with my own."

Felicia hooted. "Clearly she don't." To Meiyui and the still seated Akira, both of whom now looked crestfallen: "All of you kinda suck, really. From what I've seen, I mean. You're both spineless as hell. Of course, no one's gonna question Queen Bee over here, so I kinda get it. But even Yachiyo doesn't get to walk all over me, and I'm younger and she's older than any of you!"

Nanaka clenched her fists, she couldn't help herself. This little presumptuous pest, so smug she thought she understood everything. "If there's a problem with my leadership, you are gravely mistaken. Every plan I put forward involves an open floor for discussion-"

Felicia waved her hands, shaking her head. "There you go again, missing that big picture blastin' ya in the face. Really, it just shows how little you get Kako-chan."

Nanaka crossed her arms neath her bust, nursing a twinge in her heart. This was getting interesting. It had to be - she might say something immature and regrettable if she believed otherwise. "And is that why she asked you to come, Mitsuki-san? Why you're grilling us now? Because Kako's disclosed her frustrations to you in private, and instilled the notion that you can gloat about being better than me?" _And to use Kako for that..._ "You really are incredible. There aren't any lows you wouldn't reach if it meant satisfying yourself."

Felicia shot up, glaring with a bull's rage. "Naw, I'm just here cuz I'm worried about my friend. See, cuz she _wanted_ to spend time with you three, for _some_ weird reason, but you went and turned it into a work-thing! So," she drawled, what is it? Are you afraid of being normal teenagers? Or other people in general? Or do you just not give a salamander's _shit _about Kako-chan so long as she plays by _your_ rules?"

"Alright, that's enough!" Akira shot up. "Nanaka-san might be a crafty sort, but she's a good soul!" Her fists clashed together; Nanaka couldn't help but eye Akira's own soul winking on her ring finger. "She didn't have to unite us behind the one Witch that screwed us over, and we didn't have to follow her after. But we chose to because we wanted to!" 

Felicia snorted, crossing her arms behind her head. "Tch. _Yeah_. I'm sure Raspberry-Senpai _totally_ didn't see how weak Kako's heart was. I think Yachiyo called that 'the illusion of choice,' or somethin'." 

But... Kako never had issue speaking her mind, even at her most fearful. In their first meeting, she wasn't ashamed to express her timid side! And despite that, she spoke her mind and acted with the will to fight. Deep down she was strong, and Nanaka saw someone worth allying with, fighting with, and supporting. 

_Unless Mitsuki-san is telling me, in a roundabout way, something Kako had long-since disclosed with her... No. No, she's can't be right. This is just drivel from the mouth of a little girl whom we crossed!_ Nanaka removed her glasses, massaging the bridge of her nose. "It amazes me how you gleaned that she dislikes us from a mild frustration. Truly."

Felicia huffed, then strolled around the campfire. Akira turned so she was always shielding Nanaka. "You think I'm some kinda idiot," Mitsuki understated. "Sure, I ain't some brainiac. I can get crazy and, hey, I'm not the feelsy type of friend Kako-chan needs. I know that! But I _do_ get some stuff. Like how crummy it feels to be alone, even when you're with a ton of people. I get how it feels to be with hard, un-fun, judgmental pieces of shit like all'a you. And Akira." She stopped before Meiyui, resuming her relaxed posture. "I don't get _why_ she's so scared of what you guys'll think - she knows ya need her around, and that speakin' like I do won't change nothin'... "

_Is this... truly... how she feels?_

"Somethin' none of ya will understand that I - a bonafide dummy - already does, is that because of all'a this that we get about each other, it's helped me realize just how _awesome_ it is to be a part of somethin' where everybody loves ya. And accepts ya, even if you're not perfect. _That's_ why Kako-chan hates you guys, won't talk, and asked me - someone who knows her - to tag along on the most boringest camping trip in history. By the way, only _you_ could turn camping into a boring chore, Pink." 

Meiyui lazily tossed her paper plate into the flames. "The misfits of Mikazuki house." She turned coldly to Felicia. "That's who you're referring to. How can you be so sure that they aren't as vile as you make _us_ out to be? Is your judgement really so impeccable?"

"You bet! Iroha and Yachiyo bent over backwards to make a complete bitch like me feel at home. I ain't never leaving there!" she bragged. 

"And is that the sum of your ambitions, Mitsuki-san?" asked Meiyui, cocking her hips. "What will you do when this posse of yours grows up, moves on with their lives, or separates due to some other unforeseen circumstance?""

Felicia would surely lash out at reality, but instead she shrugged, confounding as ever. "Whatever happens happens. That's a nice dream you're cookin' up, though, considerin' what we are. Can't see Iroha as a desk jockey'r whatever, excusing herself to Doppel-out in secret every time her boss has a fit."

Chun rubbed her forehead. "How Kako-san can stand a single conversation with you, I will never know."

"Back atcha - you're boring as fuck and stiffer than dry turds."

_"I'm...!"_ Meiyui clasped the front of her dolphin tee. "I am not... _boring_."

"Tch! Yeah ya are, 'We're just a team'-san!"

Meiyui turned swiftly. "Nanaka-san, I am not boring. Tell her."

"Uh..." She wasn't, but Nanaka could only really hear Felicia's words, even though her lips weren't currently moving. She just heard Kako being talked about again and again. Then, movement on her left burst forth, punctuated by a sharp woof from the fire.

Nanaka's heart sized in her throat as she beheld unheard of fury on Akira's face. "None of us here are perfect, Mitsuki-san. But you've no right slingin' stuff like that our way if Kako doesn't feel the need to do it herself. We're a team! Our lives are in each other's hands, and that's something an outsider just can't ever get. She understands that, though. I know she does because she's told me she trusts us with her life. So if she has a problem, she knows she can come to us for-!"

"Thinkin' that means she's always honest with you is just mega-dumb. I shoulda known you wouldn't get it, Akira. You're fake as hell on a normal day."

"Excuse me?" Akira stomped forth. Nanaka was so stunned by this aggression it didn't cross her mind to hold her back.

Mitsuki smiled sweetly up at the girl looming overhead. "Yeah, you're fake as hell. Kako's told me how embarrassed you are of being girly, and that ya don't like saying no even if you wanna. Even _I'd_ be careful talkin' to ya if I were Kako-chan. Who knows if you actually give a damn? Or tellin' the truth when you're so gung-ho lying about dumbass crap?"

"That's... that's not...!" Akira stumbled back into her folded chair, clasping a face wrought with guilt. "No, sh-she trusts me. Kako-chan trusts me. I told her things about me not even my school-friends know, how could she not think I'd-?"

Felicia continued, "I don't get why _you're_ still stuck with this group, anyway. You're street-smart, like me! Like you get that Tokiwa doesn't actually care aboutcha, right? That's basically what Kako told me! That you're all only together cuz you needed teammates to survive."

The fact that Akira said nothing, simply allowed her bangs to shadow her face, hit harder than anything Felicia said until now. Nanaka felt like throwing up. _She... she's not correct, but she wouldn't be wrong when we first gathered together._ Saying such things would only explode the tension. And God forbid if Kako was hearing all of this.

"There's tons of girls back home who'd actually _want_ to have ya on their team," said Felicia, hands clasped behind her head. "And not just because you're good at punching things. Or are hot."

"Shut up already." Akira clutched her messy silver mane. "Just stop talking, kid. P-please... sorry, but... sorry. I'm sorry..." She breathed deep, shuddering. "Kako-chan," she whispered, "I never wondered how you might've really felt..."

_I've grossly underestimated Felicia's wisdom here,_ thought Nanaka. _Goodness... am I really a leader, their companion in arms? Or just their boss, so distant and unapproachable?_

"You're on quite the roll, aren't you?" Meiyui uttered, cold as her glare. "Berating us, stirring up trouble. Vengeance, at last, for that time we refused to accept you. That's what this is, yes?"

Felicia howled into the night. "You think I still give a crap about that, after finding a home and food and girls who wanna hang with me?" She laughed, clutching her belly. "Oh, this's rich! Rich! Hey, hey, Kako-chan! You hearin' this?"

"Hush! She's sleeping," hissed Nanaka.

A beat of silence as all heads turned to the spring-green tent, standing out against the murk of the woods. Felicia cupped her hands. "I know you're awake! These chicks think all'a this was revenge or some shit! Can ya believe that?! They just can't believe you're not some mindless follower!"

"Cease your lies!" Nanaka snapped.

"Make me!"

And then, a nigh-imperceptible whimper coming from the tent. It shot clean through Nanaka's soul gem. 

Whether it was because of Felicia's actions or her own, Nanaka didn't know, and that was the least of what... of what _frightened_ her about all of this: "You made her cry." It was her own voice. It was the fact that she was denying outright that it was her doing; her brain was still trying to refuse this was Nanaka Tokiwa's fault. 

That in this instance, Felicia was the sole girl responsible for making Kako cry. 

Felicia approached the tent. "Hey, Kako-chan... Kako-chan~"

"Y-yes?" rasped Natsume's little voice.

Her friend squatted before the zippered door. "Listen: you gotta stand up for yourself, here and now. Grow a pair... And when ya get home," added Felicia, jutting her thumb to the trio by the fire, "ditch these losers. Phone up Akino, ask to join up with Momoko's crew. They'd be happy to have ya. Well, except Rena, but she's a yappy little puppy honestly..." Felicia's smile fell, her head dropped. "You're good like Kaede, though. Rena'll like you quickly. I'll give'er a knuckle sandwich if she don't."

Felicia was stock-still for ten or so seconds before rising, sighing as she stood. "Goin' on a walk." She returned to her spot and picked up a flashlight, never so much as glancing at the trio, nor they her, save Nanaka - uncertain of how the others felt, she herself was too ashamed to move, object, or scold the impetuous brat for... for dare speaking truth and defending her friend's happiness. 

Come morning, Nanaka would realize how her inaction, reservations, and shortsightedness that night had resulted in hurting Kako Natsume even more.

For when she awakened at the sun's rising, she found her and Felicia's tent gone, and a note left atop the charred wood from their campfire.

******************************

_ **And barely a minute passed since the fighting started.** _

_"NANAKA!"_

Before her eyes descended a wave of familiars, blocky human teeth gnashing. Nanaka's arms moved on their own, a dual cross slash eviscerating them before another surge lunged. She severed them to ribbons as well. And the next after that, and those that followed. Every one of them died in front of her, their smoky remains giving way to another dozen behind them, with an ocean stretching far into the Labyrinth's plaid horizon.

Nanaka hacked at them too. _I'm not doing this. _That's right-_she was hacking away like a butcher. _A quiet emotion, a stifled pit of terror flaring for her life's sake, teased the truth: _I'm not moving my arms, they are themselves. My body is surviving for me. But it can't hold out forever. _

She tuned in to reality, and was assaulted by a literal all-encompassing horror: a choir of moaning, screaming children, ringing her eardrums. Meiyui's ragged little voice rang clear over the carnage: "You've never froze in a fight before," she said. "I know not what you're feeling right now-" She screamed brokenly, the sonorous hissing of familiars dying followed. "But Kako had already acknowledged that her life has been different from yours! She understands your failings are beyond your control!"

That was no excuse for her performance as a leader. 

"You're fifteen! _Fifteen!_ Do you get that?!" Akira's fists were blurs, smashing through the beasts, rending them to smoky chunks. "For all your qualities she admires, a bookworm like our Kako knows you're far from done growing! Everybody is, and we never stop, no matter how old we get!" Akira ducked as two tried ambushing her from her exposed flanks, whom she promptly uppercutted before they passed her overhead. "We make mistakes and learn from them, so, Nanaka, _fight already!_ You aren't the type to give up! Fight so you can make it up to Natsume!"

"For that is our current conviction," rasped Meiyui. She swung her arms in wide, wild arcs, bisecting creatures by the triple before her claws hung below her cocked, bloodied knees. The blue of her boots were now sodden crimson, a color smeared all about her circle of death like a painted canvas. Familiars don't bleed. "My stamina is gone. My arms feel like they want to pop out of their sockets. I'm more terrified now then I've ever been before." Her words came fast, broken. Scared. "I feel like I'm going to die, and part of me craves it, just to finally sleep!" she rambled hoarsely. "But I won't, for if I stop, then Kako will die, and in doing so prove Mitsuki correct."

"Uh, ditto!" A meaty thwack, and several creatures went careening back into the swarm.

_You girls... are my strength. As much as I'm yours. _Nanaka swallowed her exhaustion, twirling her blades despite the screaming in her elbows. _The three of you..._ Beyond the sea of snapping jaws, the exit they came from. "Girls," she wheezed, "we shall take turns carrying Natsume whilst carving a path ahead."

"Roger!"

"Yes!"

But then: a muttering behind Nanaka, seizing her by the heart as it burst into a shrill cry by the final incantation, affirming their youngest's unbelievable state of consciousness.

For half a heartbeat, utter silence. 

Before a train of emerald-green energy roared by, erecting the matted hairs upon Nanaka's left arm before dissipating into a clean path through the horde towards the exit.

_"Go..."_ A gut-wrenching raspy inhale. Nanaka whirled; Kako stood propped against her spear-staff, wrenched with agony in her stomach, eyes squeezed shut, the book nestled on her throat painfully black. _"Go now, LEAVE ME!"_

"Kako-" 

"Leave!" she screamed, buckling. "My doppel's going to kill you, _leave!" _

Her swords swapped places with the girl's crying little form, and Kako her staff with Nanaka's bow, tugging on it. "Please, no," she whimpered, "you'll die..."

Nanaka threw her voice behind her. "Follow!" The gap ahead started flooding shut with monsters, stumbling and tripping over one another to have the first bite. _This was poorly conceived... emotional, and illogical..._

_But...!_

_"You're going to live, Natsume Kako-chan!"_ The numbing agony beneath her pumped faster, the wind yanking back Nanaka's hair. _"You'll live because I'm ordering you to, as your leader, AND YOUR FRIEND!"_

The distance between Nanaka and the horde was shrinking by the meter. She readied a jump with all her magical might, despite the gouges in her calves, her thighs. 

A pair of bruised and bloody girls collided with them first, belting out a holler deafening compared to the childlike cries of the familiars. Nanaka almost slowed, her gut stirred by their heart-wrenching war cry, their weapons reared back, their will to strike and fight not just for Natsume, but their unworthy leader. The clash occurred half a football field away and nearing rapidly by Nanaka's reinvigorated step; her teammates were blurs, claws and fists flying with beastial abandon like molten silver carving through the darkness.

She didn't order a sacrifice. But they read her mind quicker than she could speak:

"We're fine!" Akira explained, pivoting to and fro, clobbering anything that tried to bite her. Meiyui, a storm of slashes, screamed, "Save Kako-chan!"

************************************

_Nanaka-sama, Akira-sama, Meiyui-sama,_

_I never hated you. Felicia-chan said a lot that's true, which I'm sorry for, but she's wrong to think that I held animosity because of it._

_After all, if anything worth begrudging it's me. This is all because I'm me, not a personal failing from any of you. I, ashamedly, like to think you're feeling something bad as you realize I'm gone, as you read this letter. I'm horrible, but it's true - if only because it proves that I was something to the three of you. That's all I care about by this point. _

_I wish I realized that before I pitched the camping idea. _

_This should come as no surprise, but I've been friendless for most of my life. A personal choice, partly, but mostly because I'm unremarkable. So I turned to books whenever my heart felt heavy, and lived out my fantasies through those pages. The stories I loved most? The ones where an outcast would prove themselves! Or the kind where a group of misfits would come together under a united goal, and over the course their barriers would break down and they'd grow closer together despite coming from wildly different backgrounds._

_You girls are all so smart, much more than me. I'm sure you can guess who dreamed of us in such a story._

_Thankfully, this trip has finally opened up my eyes. What my heart vied for was childish, too demanding of the three of you with more pressing concerns than the wishes of one needy little girl. Especially when that's just not how the real world works: we're coworkers, first and foremost. My mother told me something I'd never forgotten, on a night where I felt so lonely that I spoke to her of this - of a similar hypothetical circumstance to ours, using a school project instead of our magical girl duties. I told her I'd like to be close friends with my group mates, described the three of them as I would you guys under different names. I wanted to know if it was at all possible for us to become closer. She smiled sadly, confessed it was not unlike her relationship with coworkers at the school she teaches. She hardly gets along with them, only interacts during hours when it's necessary. 'Your coworkers are your friends second, if you're lucky,' she told me._

_Sadly, we're magical girls. Luck is not our forte._

_And that stung. I understood, but it stung so bad. And I had friends by this point! Other magical girls. Yet, I so desperately wanted more from you three, my elders. I got greedy, I'll be the first to admit that. Yet even after accepting this, my tummy hurt whenever I was with you. I felt those barriers between the four of us, carved from the strongest stone._

_I acknowledge fully that it was selfish, always has been. But as badly as I wanted to be close to you girls, I couldn't bring myself to put you on the spot and force a friendship. That would've been so much worse._

_Yet, I insisted this camping trip with the hope that it might change something between us. As Felicia-chan pointed out, it didn't work out that way: we used this time to train and be productive. It's not been a bad experience! But it hasn't been the one I was hoping for, either. I got so scared of being alone with you guys for a weekend that I asked if she could come. Even so, despite my selfish negativity, I fought to become the best magical girl I could be for you, Nanaka-senpai: I trained without complaint, didn't voice my desires to lounge and laze. I didn't allow myself to awkwardly ask for quality time as a team. And I excused myself last night in the sad hope that Felicia-chan would understand. _

_That burdening you was the last thing I wanted. She didn't understand my reasoning, though. And it makes sense. To her, the ideal group dynamic is that which she learned in Mikazuki Villa - open, honest communication. And to her, if a team doesn't have that then they aren't a real team. _ _Everything that followed made me realize how sad and immature I really am, the things she said to you guys. _

_And I don't want that anymore. _

_I don't want you girls to feel obligated to coddle me, and at the same time, if I'm being honest, my heart can't take being so close to girls who just see me as an asset._

_I'm just not ready for the adult world, pathetic as that sounds._

_So I'm going home. To see if Kaede-chan, and Momoko-san, are willing to have me. I hope so._

_Thank you for all you taught me. Train and fight hard, and save people from as many witches as you can._

_Despite the circumstances and my problems, I really did enjoy the time we spent together. Please, if you feel bad, please don't. I'm definitely not worth it!_

_-Natsume Kako_

The paper crumpled, trembling in Akira's fist, her breast heaving. No tears, but her eyes were wild, brows furrowed.

"That poor girl," mumbled Meiyui. "My coldness surely didn't help her sense of belonging, did it?" 

Akira spun with a whimper, tore ahead for the river. Kamihama sat a mile's hike beyond.

"Shinobu-san!" The name tore from Nanaka's heart, freezing the girl in her tracks. "Where... are you going?" she asked lightly. _'Don't leave me too,'_ cried the slamming in her chest. She promptly ignored it, stuffed it down. "We shouldn't just rush out with our emotions brandished so recklessly." 

"Are you kiddin' me right now?" hissed Akira, whirling back around. "Natsume is out there, sh-she's alone and she's hurting, all because _I...!"_ One hand clenched her messy silver hair, the other upturned before her, trembling under the weight of her guilt. "I need to tell her... that... I'm sorry," she squeaked, hand closing. "I need t' tell her that she's... that I... that I like her! I like her so much and've always considered her my friend! I need to... I need to return the, th-the romance she lent me," she mumbled, "and tell her how I really felt and that the ending made me cry even though the thought of doing that _scares_ me! I need to tell her because... because I know she won't berate me or judge me for it despite the act I always put on!"

Akira blushed, scanning the ground as she embraced herself. "I gotta fix this. I gotta fix what I broke."

It seemed they were both in agreement. Nanaka swallowed her emotion. "And leave us to bring home your tent and backpack?" She shook her head, pushing her glasses up her nose. "No, we'll go together. As a team."

Meiyui stepped between them, forming a triangular perimeter. "Nanaka-san... forgive my bluntness here, but did any of this letter move you?" The cool, composed girl clasped where it did for her. "Did Natsume's words hit you in any way? Because if they didn't..." Meiyui blinked, her eyes glimmering. "If they didn't, you have no right approaching her about this. Not if your legs are moving now purely for the sake of the team. If you _are_ to accompany us, I will only allow it if it's for Natsume Kako-chan's heart."

Nanaka massaged her chest, churning with emotion she could hardly begin to voice. Fear, regret - things she hadn't felt since allowing Father's school to be overtaken by scrupulous opportunists. Except the mastermind of that was a witch, and this... "This isn't an issue we can just fight and be done with," she found herself saying. "I'll admit... I regret my part in all of this-"

"That how you really feel?" asked Akira. Nanaka dragged her gaze right. Scrutinized beneath it, or rather it was hollow as she felt, the rambunctious girl shrunk but held her ground. "Nanaka-san, you're... I don't think we would've survived in Kamihama without your leadership. You're amazing, you really are." She clenched her fists. "But still... even though I want to, I can't believe you really care about Kako beyond what she brings to the team!"

"Nor I," added Meiyui. "I'll admit, while I've made my intentions in the beginning known - that our companionship was for Kamihama's sake and the people in it - I, at least, was upfront about it. You, Tokiwa, always kept your true feelings hidden behind a smile."

Two against one. _And they distrust me completely now._ She couldn't blame them. She could if she tried - for they were being emotional, raw off the genuine heartbreak Natsume had voiced with her parting words.

But to do so would deny the ache Nanaka felt, too. And though she did hide such things for the sake of efficiency, for the sake of her position among the girls, to do so now would not only hurt them with so blatant a lie, but herself in denying she felt for Kako.

"I do, I always have, Meiyui-san. You're right." Both hands were now clutching her shirt. She hardly registered it. "I will confess, for doing so would be most prudent here and now: yes, when I formed our team, I did so out of a need for survival. But in fueling that need, with every plan I considered and battle we fought, I swear on my parents' graves that I did so with my goal to ensure everybody's survival! Fighting witches, and saving innocents..." Nanaka's eyes widened; she was only now analyzing this, realizing it, for herself: "All of that was secondary."

Meiyui folded her arms, smiling. "I had a feeling. When we dealt with Suzune, the murderer, you didn't answer Akira-san outright, but I had a feeling you excluded Kako for a personal reason as well as tactical. Yes, there was definitely a part of you that didn't want her hurt."

"Meiyui," Nanaka breathed. _That's... correct,_ she recalled. "I... I care for the well-being of you girls deeply. I fight, I've always fought, so we could sustain our duties without fear. Without our shared destiny, yes, we might never have crossed paths nor willingly spent as much time as we have together. Or even feel as moved as we do now."

"I understand." Meiyui wiped her cheeks. "Completely. For so long, even after we came together, my sole concern was the perpetual survival of the Blue Seas Family. But that care, try as I might to steel my heart and deny myself these feelings, has expanded. The more I fought by your sides, the more my love for the gang encompassed the three of you.

"I'm weak," Meiyui whispered, dropping her head. "My father was a hard man. He believed the more you loved, the harder life was. Risked a greater chance of heartbreak. But I've come to disagree with that assertion: I've fought to see my gang again. I've fought to prevent any of you from getting hurt. I'm fighting this very moment to save Kako's soul because... because of how passionately I love my gang in all of you! Which is why," said Meiyui, her wavering voice growing loud, "even if you tell us to finish training here, Nanaka-san, I must decline and accompany Shinobu-san. But to honor our purpose here, I vow to train endlessly on my wooden dummy back home for the remainder of the weekend."

"That's won't be necessary." Nanaka swallowed, stepping forth. "It's not... Natsume Kako-san brought us out here to come together as a team. As... friends. I believe, if we succeed when we find her, we've won." Nanaka sighed deeply; so much emotion stirred within her, she could hardly think straight. Dangerous. "I... never had many around me, until becoming a magical girl. Like Kako, I distanced myself and found joy in my own passions. But scrupulous men took that away, and all I had was my future. Schoolwork, a career opportunity. But Kyubey took that away from me as well. All I can do now is carve my path the best I can, and that path is one I want... no, it's one I _need_... to walk with my teammates by my sides."

A raspberry-colored backpack knocked the wind out of Nanaka. Gripping the strap, a smiling Akira. She had her own, plus three tents, collapsed and tucked away in their own bags, lugged beneath a pale, muscled arm. "Then let's tell her that, yeah?"

Nanaka smiled, taking the other strap. "Agreed." Akira, grinning, opened her hand. The weight of her bag was so sudden and egregious, and Nanaka unprepared for it, she fell forward. "Whah!" she cried, grunting as the backpack cushioned the fall but walloped her in the gut.

"Oh! Sorry, Nanaka-san!"

She grabbed Akira's hand and together she rose. Staggering, Nanaka slung her backpack around her shoulder. "I'm fine," she huffed. "I'd forgotten how much I packed. Why did I?"

"'Better safe than sorry,'" Meiyui intoned, fist pressed against a palm. "That's always been your approach."

She was absolutely right - for better and, with this fiasco involving Natsume, certainly for worse: "I've always been private in expressing myself, fearing that the more you bared your heart, the greater danger it was in. But now, just this once, I'll tell her how I really feel," said Nanaka. "For there is strength in forging emotional bonds with your coworkers - Kako-chan taught me that today."

Meiyui and Akira looked to one another and giggled.

Nanaka felt hot in the face after realizing what had slipped out. _Kako-chan. _"Uh-"

She was about to blurt out how Kako, being their youngest, held a place in Nanaka's heart akin to that of a student or sister.

But Akira pumped her fist in the air, grinning. "Yeah! Let's find Kako-chan!"

Meiyui mimicked her. "To Kako-chan."

*******************************************

The horde was so furious, so startled by Meiyui and Akira's assault, that the majority of it closed on them, trying to slay the assailants. Any who caught sight of Nanaka cradling Kako were vaulted over, kicked aside, or just ran by, even as they nipped their legs.

"Forgive me," she gasped, bounding through a team of five. "Akira, Meiyui... I'll come back for you."

The horde was thinning, the exit growing nearer. "Nah... naka... _senpai_." She glanced down, not wishing to be blindsided, but the sight grabbed her attention fully: Kako was crying, clutching the front of her robes. "It hurts," she croaked, "it hurts so bad, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You're okay, you'll be fine." Nanaka had to lie then, she was unsure of... of so much then: what her corruption would bring, if she really will be fine, now or after this. Thinking they wouldn't be, the two of them, would surely be enough to make Nanaka go back for Akira and Meiyui.

"Nan-_ah!_" Kako cried.

Nanaka hushed her between gasps. "Don't try speaking. And, sorry for bouncing you..." She panted. "I'm sorry for so much, Kako-chan, but starting today, we're going to be a better, stronger team. The four of us."

"They're dying for me."

"They're fighting for you!"

_"They're dying and it's all my fault!"_

"Kak-_AUGH-HAH!"_ Blinding pain surged up her leg, tripping Nanaka, letting Kako fly from her arms to watch helplessly as she rolled several feet away. Motionless. "Kako-cha-AH! _AHHH!_" A crunch like a bundle of sticks snapping at once, within the flesh of her thigh.

_My leg is breaking,_ she thought. Nanaka tried turning over, couldn't, and looked under her arm - her entire leg was in the mouth of one of those creatures, a deadly amount of blood to normal humans gushing around its blocky teeth.

Beyond, the commotion seemed to have attracted several dozen from the hoard, and they were in a full sprint towards her and Kako.

Nanaka's gut went empty, then burst into desperate, panicking flame: _"RUN KAKO!"_

A shrill scream answered, and seemingly from the heavens fell Kako's spear-staff, through the skull of the beast. It burst into smoke, as did her weapon in twinkling light. A light weight collapsed beside her - Kako was on her hands and knees, heaving like she'd ran a marathon.

"I can't... go on... anymore!" she gasped.

"Kako," Nanaka tried managing, but the agony in her leg was dizzying; Kako and the labyrinth behind her began to tilt, the distant roars became a hollow, muted garble. There was only her ragged exhales and Kako's. "Loo'h... lookit me, Ka'h-ha'h... _augh!"_ It hurt so bad, and the gut-wrenching splash punctuating her cry... like a bucket of water emptied over cobblestones. The coppery smell was nauseating. _And it's mine._

Nanaka pushed her selfishness out of mind. Kako was going to die if she fell into despair now. "Natsume, please!" she spat. Green eyes, puffy with ruddiness, flashed to meet hers. "Please..." Nanaka made for her face, missed, and gripped her bow instead, yanking the frail thing closer. Breathing her words, she told Kako, "Leave this place. Live for your sake. Love life and be happy. Touch hearts like you did ours, so cold and terrified. Do this, Kako, in case I don't make it back with our friends." She let go.

Kako fell on her heels. "Nanaka-san," croaked the young girl.

A smile to her, then a scream as she sat up, gritting her teeth and spitting and snarling against the pain in her thigh. Literally chewed to the bone it was. She didn't focus on it, nor the pain a second longer - a swarm was coming. "I'll be fine," Nanaka gasped. "Don't let your senpai's sacrifice be in vain." She retrieved from her soul gem a pair of katanas. "Or she'll be very, very upset with you."

They were several meters away.

"Nanaka-san!"

They leapt.

"I won't let-!"

_"Go, PLEASE!"_ Nanaka screamed, a scream powered by the torture blaring up her thigh, throughout her joints, burning her soul. A strength they lent as she lunged forth, swords flying through one beast after another, deflecting their teeth, stabbing slicing and hacking without pause.

_For Kako._ She thrust, rendering her sword a kebab of four. Both of them. Again and again.

_For the mistakes I'd made._ She twirled her katanas, pivoting slowly in place - the surrounding beasts idiotically leapt, were cut down, and leapt again as soon as they were free to enter her circle of death.

_For being a terrible leader._ Agony so bad it made her hand open, dropping a katana, clamped around her bicep. Nanaka screamed with all her pain, all her regret, forgoing grace to ax through several before her at once.

Not once did she see Kako again


End file.
